


A Change in Timing

by Demi_jos10



Category: Captain America (Movies), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Found Family, Gen, I do have somewhat of a plan I promise, POV Third Person, POV Tony Stark, So I may add tags once my brain finds them, Tony Stark in space, Tony Stark-centric, Unfortunately I don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2018-12-04 00:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11544051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demi_jos10/pseuds/Demi_jos10
Summary: What if Tony Stark never came out of that wormhole? What if he got lost in space?The Avengers are left to fend for themselves without a genius sugar daddy and the Guardians get a little extra help in their endeavors.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first serious work since probably sixth grade, when I wrote Mary Sue self insert Young Justice fanfic. I always accept concrit, fanart, or even senseless squealing, so feel free to yell in the comments.
> 
> Also, if you're reading this and have questions about anything or want me to tag something, let me know and I'll be happy to talk.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @mockingajaybird, and I will try to get back to you, though it may take a few days.

Floating in the endless void of space, Tony can only think one thought. Finally, finally, he can rest. The wormhole is closed, the Chitauri are dead, and finally he can just stop for a while. Of course, he won't be able to start back up ever again, since the suit isn't fit for long-term space travel and he's God knows how far away from earth.

But it's peaceful, even if he knows he's going to die. Or at least, it's peaceful up until a spaceship, much smaller than any Chitauri craft, hits him head on.

\------------

Steve has lost men in battle before. It's a part of war, and he thought he was used to it. But to see a man, one he had said would never make the sacrifice play, fly into space and not come back, well. That's something entirely different.

Unfortunately, he can only spare a moment for Tony before he has to take care of Loki. After, everything is a rush of debriefs and moving the prisoner and helping rebuild and Steve just doesn't have time to mourn one man, not when it's someone he never really knew, not when it's one of hundreds of others he saw fall before his eyes.

Weeks later, every station is showing the funeral of the great inventor Tony Stark. His company is safely in the hands of Pepper Potts, his suits given to Colonel James Rhodes, a large sum of money left for Peggy Carter, a few other bits and pieces left to specific people, and everything else donated to charity.

This Steve Rogers does mourn, the loss of so much potential. Steve misses an opportunity he never got, this last link to his past, however indirect. He sees for himself a bond formed from shared family, even though the people he knew had changed beyond what he could have imagined in seventy years' time.

However, the world kept turning, just as it has every time someone great is lost. A little smaller, a little duller, but there all the same.

This is not the story of a world without Tony Stark, though. At least, not entirely. No, this is the story of a change in timing, an order given a little sooner, a suit falling a little slower. This is the story of what could have been.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isnt beta read, so let me know if you see any typos or mistakes.

Tony had fully expected to die when he flew into that wormhole. Sure, he was a little bummed that he couldn't talk to Pepper before he was gone forever, but he had made his peace with the end of his life.

Then Tony got hit by a spaceship, and now he's in an immobilized suit listening to a raccoon argue with a tree about which parts of his armor would get the most money. Unfortunately the suit was disabled by whatever tractor beam the raccoon used to pull him in, so he can't move and the speakers are out, so he can't talk without yelling. The only consolation is that the seal held and he can still breathe.

"I'm tellin' ya, Groot, the glowy thing in the middle is definitely our meal ticket," says the raccoon, and seriously, since when can rodents talk?

"I am Groot," says the tree. That's all the tree has said the entire time Tony has been here. Tony is almost certain the raccoon is crazy and making up different meanings for the same sentence.

"Of course I can see that the boots would be great for explosives. But sold as-is, they aren't worth that much," says the rodent, who is digging through a box near the door. Eventually he resurfaces with what looks like a laser pointer.

"I am Groot," says the tree, presumably Groot, pulling Tony's arms and legs into a different position.

Fighting an army of aliens for hours is bound to cause a few injuries, though, and the motion jostles one. Tony doesn't bite back his yelp in time, and all three creatures freeze.

"Groot, I don't think this is junk metal," says the raccoon, thumbing a button on the side of the thing in his hand. A laser cutter pops out, and Tony swears a blue streak, muffled by his face plate.

The raccoon brings the laser cutter down, quickly slicing through the sides of the face plate and singing Tony's skin in a few spots. The tree grabs the plate and pulls, tearing through any metal the raccoon missed.

Tony gasps once his face is exposed, an irrational need to prove he isn't in the cold vacuum of space any more, then regrets it because he doesn't know what the atmosphere of the ship is like, then sags in relief once he doesn't start choking on toxic gasses.

"Now what's a Terran doing all the way out here?" the raccoon asks, probably rhetorically. "I'm pretty sure you're not that stray Yondu picked up. So tell me, did you primitive little animals finally master space travel?"

"Like you're one to talk," Tony scoffs, responding more on instinct than any premeditated rebuttal. "You're literally a talking raccoon. And last I checked, all raccoons have mastered is opening trash cans."

"Hey, you watch your mouth, Terran," the raccoon says, obviously mad. "I'm the best bounty hunter in the quadrant, and no one disrespects Rocket."

"I'm assuming you're Rocket, since the big guy is Groot, as he has said about a billion times," Tony says. "The question is, what's a Terran, and why do you think I am one?"

"They're the things on that backwater planet called, what was it, Midgard? That's what the guy with the eye patch calls it, anyway," says Rocket. "You sayin' you ain't a Terran?"

"Apparently I am," Tony mumbles, already planning at least 3 different ways to get home. "So how far are we from Midgard?"

"Oh, light-years," says Rocket. "If you wanted to go there, you'd have to fly at warp speed for at least twelve cycles. In that tin can, I'm pretty sure you'd die first."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this as I write it, so there's no update schedule.
> 
> Also, come find me at areanynamesnottakenyet on Tumblr, where I post nothing but will do my best to answer any questions you have.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetad, so let me know if there are any typos or whatever.

After a brief period of argument and analyzing the exact abilities of the Iron Man armor, it is decided that Tony definitely will not be able to get back to earth. The three days spent examining the suit give him a place on the ship with Rocket and Groot, though.

"Only 'cause you'll make us so much money," Rocket assures, as though he hadn't stayed up late with Tony discussing incendiary devices.

"Of course," Tony agrees, because he knows what it's like to pretend you don't care about someone in the hopes that it will hurt less when they inevitably leave you behind.

"I am Groot," Groot says, which makes Rocket sputter and threaten bodily harm he'll never go through with. Tony still isn't sure what Groot is saying most of the time, but he's learning.

"So, who wants to get paid?" Rocket asks, changing the subject, whatever it was that Groot had said.

"It's so weird to actually need to get paid," Tony says. "But sure. I need a change of pace from this junk of junk you call a ship."

"Great, let's find someone too lazy to go get things on their own," Rocket says, flipping switches on the control panel of the ship. Tony really wants to learn to fly it.

"I feel like I was expecting bounty hunting work to be more difficult to find," Tony says. "Speaking of, how do you find clients? Is there a specific bar you go to? Do people take out ads in the newspaper? Smoke signals?"

"You'll find out soon enough, won't you, Terran?" Rocket says, tooling his eyes. "Now shut up and buckle in our you're gonna be a splatter mark on one of the walls pretty soon."

\--------

In an upper floor of Stark Tower, Dum-E whirs around, gathering fruits and greens and engine grease to put into a blender. He mixes them together and carefully carries the slightly toxic mixture to the main work station.

Dum-E beeps questioningly when no one picks it up to (pretend to) drink it. He nudges it a little closer to the center of the table.

"Sir isn't here, Dum-E," JARVIS reminds him gently. "He isn't coming back."

Dum-E beeps sadly, then dumps the smoothie into one of the trash cans. Butterfingers rolls up and pats Dum-E's main support strut consolingly. Dum-E's claw droops as he follows Butterfingers to the charging stations and powers off to wait for his creator.

\--------

"So I was right. It is a bar," Tony says as they walk into a dimly lit dive. "I'm pretty sure you could have just told me that."

"It's not the bar, you idiot," Rocket says, pushing past people several times his size without batting an eye. Tony is impressed. "We got a request while you were busy talking to that junk you call a suit. This is just where we're meeting our customer."

"I am Groot," Groot agrees, nodding sagely. Tony rolls his eyes and scoffs.

"I wasn't talking to the suit. I have an AI, I was talking to him," Tony explains. "And besides, Groot, just because you think the color scheme is trashy doesn't mean the actual tech is bad."

"Wait, you understand Groot?" Rocket asks, squinting up at Tony.

"Yeah, obviously. Don't you?" Tony answers, squinting back.

"Well yeah, but that took me years," Rocket defends. You've only been here for a couple of cycles."

"I am a certified genius," Tony says proudly. "And it's not like I understand everything. Just enough to be kinda useful."

"I am Groot," Groot says, paying Tony on the shoulder.

"Thanks, big guy," Tony says. "Now where's our customer?"

"In that corner back there," Rocket says, indicating a very tall creature with more arms than any reasonable person could need and several more eyes than is normal. Rocket continues to push through the crowd, so Tony follows him reluctantly with Groot bringing up the rear.

Rocket takes the chair directly across from the creature, the only one not occupied at the table, leaving Tony and Groot to stand at his shoulders.

"Good evening, bounty hunter," the creature says in a deep, rumbling voice. "I see you are interested in taking this job. Before we begin discussing the details, I would like to make sure you realize that this must not be connected back to me."

"Of course," Rocket says. "Now what is it we can do for you?"

"Recently an important family heirloom was stolen from me," the creature says. "I would like you to bring it back. I will provide you with its location and you will be duly compensated, of course. The only caveat is that I would like as few people as possible to be present at the discussion. If you would leave your men here with mine, we could perhaps discuss this more privately?"

"Yeah, sure," Rocket agrees easily. To Tony and Groot he adds, "I'll be back soon. Don't get into to much trouble, yeah?"

"I am Groot," Groot says, nodding solemnly.

"Yeah," Tony agrees. "Besides, hope much trouble could we even get into?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why'd you have to jinx it Tony? Now I'm gonna have to write a bar fight.
> 
> A big thanks to everyone who has commented or left kudos. I see all of you, even if I don't reply.
> 
> You can find me at areanynamesnottakenyet on Tumblr if you wanna ask questions or whatever.
> 
> Also feel free to draw fanart if you want or write a fic in this universe. I won't be covering any of the Thor movies, agents of shield, or any of the Netflix shows, since I haven't seen them.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony isn't sure how exactly they got to this point. Things moved pretty quickly after Rocket left, and now all Tony knows is that he's in the middle of a bar fight and he doesn't know what they're fighting about.

  
Tony is trying to stay out of the way for the most part, crouched behind the bar instead of getting involved. Then he sees a really big dude going for Groot, except Groot doesn't see him coming, so Tony grabs the closest blunt object, which happens to be a truly gigantic bottle of alcohol, and smashes it over the guy's head. Almost instantly, everybody freezes. At first Tony thinks they're staring at him, but then he realizes they're staring behind him, so he turns slowly, dreading what he'll find.

Tony regrets turning around almost instantly. Behind him is Rocket, standing with their client. Rocket looks furious, and even though Tony doesn't know the client's species well enough to read its microexpressions, the client seems pretty mad, too. It's then that Tony realizes the dude he just brained was standing next to the client when they walked in and is probably the client's second in command.

"I feel like I should say this isn't what it looks like, but I literally can't think of any explanation for this other than that it is what it looks like," Tony says, inching away from the alien at his feet who has yet to get up yet.

"Know this, vermin," the creature says to Rocket. "Were you not the very best at your job, you would be dead where you stand. Leave my presence immediately."

"Of course," Rocket says, scowling mostly at Tony. "Let's go, idiot."

Tony follows Rocket and Groot meekly, not saying anything until they reach the ship. Almost as soon as Tony opens his mouth to defend himself, Rocket starts cackling.

"Did you see his face?" Rocket says through his laughter. "He was so mad! Ah, I hate that guy. What did you even do to the guy?"

"He was gonna attack Groot, so I smashed a bottle over his head," Tony says a little warily, not sure whether or not Rocket is actually mad.

"I am Groot," Groot says, thanking Tony for his help.

"I don't even know what the fight was about!" Tony exclaims, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Groot just likes to fight sometimes," Rocket says, as though this explains everything. "He probably saw someone else fighting and just wanted to let off some steam."

"That makes about zero sense, but sure," Tony says. "Anyway, what exactly is our job supposed to be?"

"You didn't recognize-" Rocket starts before cutting himself off. "Who am I kidding, of course you don't know who that was. He's the head of one of the biggest crime families this side of the nebula. They communicate with each other through special gems that link to each other, way more complicated than your puny little Terran brain can handle.

"Anyway, a rival family stole his gem, so he wants us to get it back. He knows who stole it and where it's being kept, but he can't go or send any of his men 'cause that'll start a war, so he's sending us and paying us creds that can't be traced back to him. Any questions? No? Good. Let's get going."

"Wait, do we have a plan at all here?" Tony asks, slightly alarmed. "And if we do, am I allowed to know what it is?"

"Sure we have a plan. Or at least, we will. Once I see the security in person," Rocket says. "And you'll shut up and do as you're told, and that's all you need to worry about."

"Ah, yes. The oft lauded obey my every command method of leadership," Tony says, nodding sagely. "Favored by those who think they know better than everyone else."

"That's not what I'm doing, dingbat," Rocket says, rolling his eyes. "I don't know better than everyone. Just better than you."

"Wow, thanks for that vote of confidence. Groot, can you believe this guy?" Tony says, crossing his arms.

"I am Groot," Groot says, inching closer to Rocket.

"Et tu, Groot?" Tony says, pressing an open palm against his heart. "And I thought we had a bond. Was it all a lie? Did I mean nothing to-"

"Yeah, yeah, shut your trap," Rocket interrupts. "We need to get going and I don't wanna listen to you while the whole time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have an update schedule, so things will be sporadic. I'm writing and posting on my phone, so let me know if I miss anything. Also, this has no beta, and I'm too lazy to edit.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr as areanynamesnottakenyet and let me know if you have any questions.
> 
> Feel free to write stuff in this timeline or draw art for it, just let me know so I can look at it and cry over your kindness.


	5. Chapter 5

"I've figured out a plan. I'm gonna need Groot to get me a plasma core and a high tensile wire, composition doesn't matter," Rocket says after several days of observing the mark's house. "And from you, humie, I need something shiny, preferably small, and that guy's toothpick."

The toothpick in question is being held between the frankly terrifying fangs of an alien whose biceps are at least twice the size of Tony's head. A smaller alien, one reminiscent of a rabbit on two legs, gets to close to toothpick guy and is promptly swatted across the bar. It hits the wall and doesn't move. Tony tries to resist the urge to shudder in fear.

"Does it have to be that guy's toothpick? I'm pretty sure I can find a toothpick that won't get me killed," Tony says, only to realize that rocket and Groot have both already walked off to get what they need. "Right. I'm going to die, then."

Tony puts it off as long as he can, testing the reflective qualities of the various coins he had on him when he went through the wormhole, which isn't very many. Eventually he settles in a quarter that he then buffs out to make it reflect even brighter.

When he has nothing left to do to avoid getting the toothpick, he approached the alien in the corner, armed with a large bottle of some sort of alcohol and his wits.

Now Tony is a known alcoholic. He knows the types of people who normally frequent bars like this, and he knows how to interact with them. Admittedly, there are variables he doesn't have access to, since he's never been to a space bar before, but he's fairly confident that his plan will work.

Fifteen minutes into the encounter, he's less sure. The alien accepted his offer of a shared drink gladly, but instead of taking the toothpick out of its mouth to drink, it leaves it hanging out of the corner of its mouth while chugging half the bottle.

Finally, the toothpick falls out on a foul smelling belch, and the alien doesn't seem to notice. Tony, pretending to be drunk-clumsy, drapes himself across the table and palms the small piece of what feels like plastic. The bottle of space booze is emptied soon after, and Tony offers to fetch another one, pocketing the tiny stick.

The drunk alien nods agreeably, patting himself down looking for his toothpick, only to shrug and pull another one out of a container similar to a cigarette carton. Tony sighs in relief and starts looking for Groot, since he knows he won't be able to find Rocket in this crowd.

He eventually spots the tree man standing near the bar, with his rodent buddy sitting on one of his shoulders, watching Tony and laughing behind his creepy little raccoon hand. Tony pushed through the crowd until he reaches them, hating that he has to look up at Rocket, who has no right to be that tall.

"What are you laughing at, trash panda?" Tony asks. "I got what you wanted, by the way. Not that you were any help with that."

"Gimme," Rocket says, making grabby hands and ignoring Tony's disbelieving stare. After a moment, Tony hands him the buffed coin and the toothpick. Rocket puts the coin in his pocket and tosses the toothpick over his shoulder.

"What? I thought- You said! I can't believe you, you diminutive dumpster diver," Tony sputters, flailing his hands around. "Why did you even send me to do that if you didn't need the toothpick?"

"I wanted to know if you'd do it," Rocket says, as if this is a perfectly acceptable reason for someone to risk their life at the hands of an alien the size of two gorillas in a trench coat.

"I will literally drop kick you out of an airlock if you do that to me again, you dust bunny in a track suit," Tony threatens.

"Sure you will," Rocket says, clearly not believing Tony, which is fine because Tony probably wouldn't drop kick the guy he is currently relying on for survival out of an airlock. "Now, we need to get going. We don't want too many people to recognize us."

"Don't you mean recognize you? I haven't done anything worth recognizing yet," Tony says, rolling his eyes.

"You will soon, and if anyone can connect you to it, that'll be big trouble for you," Rocket says. "So if you want to stick around, make friends, that's up to you, but we won't come back for you if you get caught."

"I am Groot," Groot agrees, already using his massiveness to move towards the entrance of the bar.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Tony says, trailing behind them in the open space right behind Groot. It strikes Tony, in that moment, how surreal it is to be working for a raccoon and a tree, stealing from intergalactic crime families. He almost misses life on Earth before Afghanistan. Almost.

\--------

On Earth, a statue is unveiled of a hero lost too soon. It is Iron Man in his final moments, carrying the nuke that destroyed the Chitauri on a one way trip to space unexplored. A young boy, once saved by Tony Stark himself at the Stark Expo, vows to do anything he can to be like this man.

On this same day, construction begins on three aircraft carriers that will be used to make sure the world changes the way it's supposed to. With Colonel James Rhodes left in charge of the remaining Iron Man armors and blueprints, and no Tony Stark to consult on SHIELD technology, it's much easier to find ways around SHIELD's half-hearted security.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, it took me a while to figure out what to write. As always, I have no beta, so any mistakes are mine.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr under the name mockingajaybird, where I have a master list of insults for Rocket Raccoon.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony settles in to the rhythm of the ship pretty quickly after that first job. They got in and out without any problems, and despite numerous threats, the client paid them and that was that. Tony, of course, is almost instantly bored.

"Okay, but don't you have anything I can use to build a new suit?" Tony asks for what is probably the hundredth time, despite always being denied. "I'll settle for so e sheet metal and a blowtorch, I just need something."

"For the last time, I'm using all of it. If you want a toy, use your cut next time we're planetside," Rocket says, not even looking up from the wiring he's messing with.

"Times like this are why I wish I had a pocket for my phone in the under armour," Tony grumbles, going back to rolling a screw back and forth across the table. "Then at least I'd have flappy bird to pass the time."

"I am Groot," Groot asks, head tilted adorably, not that Tony would ever say that out loud.

"It's a game. The point is to not hit the walls and it's really hard, so as long as you don't throw your phone across the room and shatter the screen on your unhelpful robot assistant, it's a great way to stay occupied," Tony explains.

"Look, we'll be landing on a planet with a market in a few cycles. If you can wait that long without your puny Terran brain exploding, you can buy something then. They don't have much, but it should be enough for the junk you make," Rocket says, gesturing vaguely with a pair of space pliers.

"You know what, Meeko, I'm finally getting something to work with, so I'm gonna pretend you didn't just insult me," Tony says, flicking the screw across the room to hit Rocket in the head. It misses, but it's the thought that counts.

\--------

Sometimes, when the demands of his superiors are too much, Rhodey will sit in the workshop, talking to JARVIS and playing fetch with the bots. He'll do maintenance on the War Machine armor with JARVIS' help, but he hasn't made any upgrades. He may have graduated from MIT, but he's not Tony Stark.

On especially bad days, he'll look at the Iron Man armors, the old ones and the ones that never passed the testing stage, and he'll think about taking on the mantle. He'll think about quitting his job in the army and using the money Tony left for him to spend the rest of his days as a hero.

Ultimately, he always decides not to do it. It's not that he thinks it isn't what Tony would want or that it isn't the best choice for him, but he's just not strong enough. He knows he couldn't handle the constant reminder of the brother he lost, he couldn't handle the thought of living off money he only has because his best friend died.

So he puts the red and gold back where it belongs, and he goes back to what he's been doing for the weeks since he lost the best man he ever knew. He works to make the world better, and he takes care of the bots, his nephews basically.

The armors gather dust, and Rhodey lets them. He leaves them in the dark and he gets back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I had no clue what to write for a while. In case you're wondering, Meeko is the raccoon from Pocahontas.
> 
> My Tumblr has changed. It's now the same as here, so hit me up at mockingajaybird if you have any questions.


	7. Chapter 7

“Behold, mankind’s greatest creation!” Tony says, gesturing grandly at the Iron Man armor.

“Uh, you’ve had that the whole time we’ve known you, and I’m pretty sure it’s still a piece of garbage,” Rocket says, clearly unimpressed.

“Not the armor, although don’t think I missed that insult, asshole. I meant the thing inside of it,” Tony says.

“Yeah, pretty sure you’re still a piece of garbage, too,” Rocket interrupts, not bothering to look up from the gun he’s cleaning.

“Shut up, fuzz ball. I’m not done talking yet,” Tony snaps. “Anyway, what I’ve been working on, besides making it functional and space safe, is isolating and repairing the fragment of JARVIS that I use to run the suit. So he doesn’t remember everything that the whole program would, but he’s back online and ready to kick ass.”

“The hell is a JARVIS?” Rocket asks, finally looking at Tony.

“Only the best AI to ever be created,” Tony says, finally powering up the armor. “Say hi, JARV.”

“Hello, Sir. I can’t seem to access my external servers,” JARVIS says, voice coming out of both the suit’s speakers and the ship’s intercom system.

“Yeah, about that. We’re out of range,” Tony says, looking shifty. Rocket eyes him suspiciously, noting the vastly out of character actions.

“That shouldn’t be possible. The server system spans well into the outer atmosphere,” JARVIS says. “What are you not telling me?”

“We didn’t make it out of that wormhole,” Tony says, quieter than normal. “Luckily, Rocket and Groot here picked us up before I kicked the bucket.”

“I am sorry to hear that, Sir. What is the plan, then?” JARVIS asks.

“Well first we have to get you a body. I’d be fine with you using the armor, but I’m going to need it to get around outside the ship. So you’ll need a dedicated form, and it’ll need to be a lot more complicated than Dum-E’s. Then we’ll work on making the suit suitable for long-term vacuum exposure. Figure out where exactly we are, plot a course home, and go from there,” Tony says. “Of course, we’ll also have to figure out stasis, but how hard can that be in the grand scheme of things?”

“Of course, Sir. There’s absolutely no way that could end badly. And at what point to we try to contact Colonel Rhodes to tell him you are alive?” JARVIS answers dryly.

“As soon as we’re in range to be able to send the message, obviously,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. “Honey Bear can wait that long, I’m sure.”

“I must express my adamant disagreement to this plan, Sir,” JARVIS says.

“You always do,” Tony says fondly. “I’m glad to have you back, buddy.”

“I’m glad to be back, Sir,” JARVIS answers, just as fond.

“If you two are done with the reunion, we have a job to plan for. Can we get back to that?” Rocket says. “I’d kinda like to be able to eat on the regular.”

“I am Groot,” Groot agrees.

“Please, like you don’t have a stockpile for when you need to lay low. I’ve known you long enough to know you’re smarter than that,” Tony says.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like money,” Rocket says, dismissal clear in his voice. “Now let’s go. I have to account for an extra set of hands.”

\--------

In a small town in Tennessee, a young man dies in an explosion, taking five other people with him. It’s ruled a suicide, and no one looks into it any further than that. Rhodey makes a small note of it, but dismisses it quickly. After all, he has more pressing matters to worry about. Like the new terrorist blowing up army bases across the Middle East.

Pepper, running Stark Industries from the Malibu office, splits her time fighting off investors and board members determined to bring back the weapons division, and mourning a budding relationship that she knows wouldn’t have worked out anyway, but that she wishes she could have experienced nonetheless.

Happy is by her side, head of security and her personal chauffer. The Malibu mansion is too big for just one person, so he shares it with Pepper, despite the memories it holds.

Steve has done what he always does. He goes where he’s needed, which this time happens to be an apartment in DC, to work with SHIELD and make the world a better place. He spends time with Natasha and Clint, listening to Nat’s stories of her time in Stark Industries, secure in the knowledge that Tony had proven her wrong and he would be remembered correctly this time. He keeps going and he doesn’t look back at a man he barely knew.

JARVIS is hard at work, using the backdoor into SHIELD’s systems to keep an eye out. It’s one of the last things his creator did, and he will see it to its completion. So far, he doesn’t like what he’s seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the e x t r e m e l y long wait. I don't have an actual reason for it, other than that I forgot this story existed. I would like to thank everyone who left comments or kudos, you guys are great. Also, I just got a laptop, which is a lot easier to type on than my phone, so I might be able to update more often, since it will be easier to get stuff written down quickly.
> 
> Also! I'm looking for a beta reader. I don't currently have one, but if anyone is interested, hit me up at mockingajaybird on tumblr. If you don't have a tumblr account, I can be reached at robindebat@gmail.com.
> 
> Again, sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy!


	8. An Update

Hi, guys. I hate to do this, but unfortunately I will have to put this work on hiatus. I deeply appreciate everyone who has subscribed, commented, and left kudos, and I definitely want to finish this, but due to some recent developments in my personal life, I won't be able to write any updates, and I'm not sure how long it will be until I'm able to add to this again. I'll explain what's going on in the next paragraph, but if you don't care, you can skip it and I won't mind.

So if any of you follow me on tumblr, you may have seen some of the posts I made complaining about my father. Part of the reason we clash so much is that I am an atheist and he's a very conservative christian. I didn't tell him I was atheist because the religion he belongs to looks down on anyone who isn't part of it, and I won't be able to move out for another 16~ months. However, my dad recently found the side blog I had, which I used to connect to other people who's parents were part of this religion that they didn't believe. Because some of the posts spoke badly about my father and the religion, I am no longer able to use my phone, and I can only use my laptop a limited amount for school work so that I won't be able to make any new posts about these things. I don't know when I'll be allowed to use the internet unrestricted again, so I don't know when I'll be able to add to this story. Once I'm back, I'll probably just replace this note with an actual chapter. So if you're interested in continuing to read this once I'm back, subscribing would probably be a pretty reliable way to do that.


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